Crevicular fluid-based diagnostic tests.

A diagnostic test seeks to establish the presence or absence of a disease. Many tests also seek to determine the severity, progression, or level of activity of a disease as well as the disease's likely further progression. Crevicular fluid-based diagnostic tests for various periodontal diseases are currently attracting much interest in clinical, academic, and industrial circles. This is because existing clinical diagnostic tests have many shortcomings. By the use of these techniques it is hoped that treatment will become more effective, and that overtreatment will be avoided, thus resulting in a more cost-effective outcome. Much basic work relevant to the development of such tests is underway, covering a wide range of potential analytes, and the contributions to the referred literature in all of these areas in the past year are reviewed.